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Colonial Williamsburg
An Artifact of Popular Culture
by Christopher Geist
In board games, bodice rippers, water glasses, commemorative plates and more, Colonial Williamsburg has become part of America's popular culture.
Actor Jack Lord walked in illustrious footsteps when, portraying fictional planter John Fry in Williamsburg—The Story of a Patriot, he strolled through the turmoil and unrest of the 1770s city. Yes, of course, George Washington's, and Patrick Henry's, and Thomas Jefferson's. But also Cary Grant's. Seventeen years before The Patriot, as Lord's 1957 film is often called, Grant had been in town to portray Matthew Howard in The Howards of Virginia. Grant's movie was feature length, so the story was the more detailed and complex of the two. Still, there are similarities in the productions, not the least of which is the use of restored Colonial Williamsburg as a movie set.
Both films include sequences in the Governor's Palace, the Capitol, and the Apollo Room of the Raleigh Tavern, and feature appearances by Jefferson and Washington. Both present the climactic moment when the Virginians direct Richard Henry Lee to return to Philadelphia to move for "independency" in Congress, and order the king's standard hauled down from the Capitol's cupola. And in both movies the observant viewer notices that Colonial Williamsburg was a work in progress. Try as he might, neither director could prevent the camera from glimpsing anachronisms—here a bus, there a too-recent building.
Williamsburg's restoration has progressed since The Patriot began what, at this writing, is a forty-nine-year run at the Visitor Center, and the director of the next feature film produced in the Historic Area won't have to shoot around that problem. Wherever the cinematographer points his lens, it will capture a town that has become the consummate image of an eighteenth-century Virginia city, an artifact of American popular culture.
Popular culture artifacts are widely recognized and accepted by the general public as representing cultural importance and shared meanings. Like most aspects of popular culture, such artifacts are frequently commercialized, appear in the mass media, are generally understood and available to most members of the culture, and have the power to entertain, as well as to enlighten and educate. Though popular culture is generally associated with leisure time activities and frequently involves mass production and consumerism, it does not follow that the underlying meaning is trivial or easily forgotten. On the contrary, such popular culture artifacts as Colonial Williamsburg help to shape our understanding of our culture and its history.
Richard Thomas, who would grow to become John-Boy Walton, poses beside a co-character in a 1962 episode of 1,2,3 Go!.
Why is Colonial Williamsburg so frequently represented in the products of popular culture? In most instances, the creators of popular entertainments and consumer goods, as well as the consumers who patronize them, are drawn to the most conspicuous example in any given class of items. Colonial Williamsburg presents a generally accepted popular vision of colonial America, and it is the most prominent example of a living history museum village. Its presence is ubiquitous in popular culture materials, and it became the popular standard in the field of living history.
Television is our most pervasive and popular medium, and Colonial Williamsburg has had a presence almost from the start. Will Rogers Jr.'s Good Morning show, and Wide, Wide World both filmed segments in the restored city in 1956. Ten-year-old Richard Thomas, better known as John-Boy Walton, starred in an episode of the children's program 1, 2, 3, Go! from the Historic Area in 1962. Lassie visited in 1966, in one segment of a series of episodes in which she was lost and wandered the country as her master searched for her. The fearless canine was falsely accused of being a dangerous dog by a Virginia turkey farmer, but was exonerated with the help of a sympathetic attorney portrayed by MacDonald Carey. Alistair Cooke spoke from the House of Burgesses in scenes from his personal history of America broadcast in 1972 and 1973. Most network news programs have recorded segments at Colonial Williamsburg, including The Today Show and Good Morning, America. The History Channel and PBS have taped in the Historic Area, sometimes using its streets and buildings as stand-ins for such other colonial cities as Philadelphia and Boston. Producer Ken Burns used the town as a set in his documentaries on Jefferson, and Lewis and Clark.
Colonial Williamsburg has been the setting for Christmas specials. Two memorable examples still available for home video viewing are Perry Como's Early American Christmas from 1978 and Al Roker's Colonial Christmas in 2000. John Wayne was a guest on the Como program. Roker's program appeared on the Food Channel and included behind-the-scenes visits to the Williamsburg Inn's kitchen and the costume design center. Williamsburg employees appeared in both productions. Interpreter Greg James turned in a fine performance for Roker, strolling down Duke of Gloucester Street in character, singing "O Come, All Ye Faithful."
George Washington, 1984 miniseries with a 1986 sequel, filmed in the Historic Area. The show starred Barry Bostwick in the title role and Patty Duke as Martha Washington. The Wythe House, Governor's Palace and gardens, the Capitol, Raleigh Tavern, and city streets were part of the production. Its version of Henry's "Caesar-Brutus" speech is so similar to the one in The Patriot it seems almost a homage. Williamsburg interpreters appeared as extras. One, Christy Hill, wore a green and gold striped gown with a brown bodice trimmed in gold braid and white lace initially intended for Patty Duke.
Popular culture's material realm includes, among other items, vacation souvenirs, memorabilia, and collectibles. Americans fill their homes with such items, helping to sustain pleasant memories of family journeys, and to announce their hobbies, interests, and fascination with special places. Collectors of Williamsburg paraphernalia commonly assemble such items as shot glasses, tumblers, ashtrays, hot pads and dish towels, elaborately illustrated calendars, matchbooks, refrigerator magnets, postcards, miniatures of Colonial Williamsburg buildings, toy soldiers and colonial citizens, cocked hats, coloring books, and bumper stickers. Most of these items are officially sanctioned and licensed by Colonial Williamsburg, but many are not.
Some people collect anything and everything they can find associated with Williamsburg, and others focus on a particular category. An example of the latter is The Cat's Meow Village group of Colonial Williamsburg's historic buildings produced in 1994. The Cat's Meow Village consists of two-dimensional wooden replicas of the facades of historic structures from throughout the United States, each with the black silhouette of a cat sitting somewhere on the building. The Colonial Williamsburg collection includes the Governor's Palace, Capitol, Courthouse, Bruton Parish Church, and the Magazine, along with most of the trade shops. Another purveyor of collectibles, Bing & Grondahl's Copenhagen Porcelain, featured the Governor's Palace as its initial number in its annual Christmas in America Collection series of commemorative plates begun in 1986.
There are board games based on the colonial town. Early versions often may be had at antique stores. My own copy of The Great Game of Visiting Williamsburg bears a 1958 copyright and was discovered in a shop in northern Ohio. Somewhat like Parcheesi, players circle the board from four stations at The Capitol, The Magazine, The Governor's Palace, or the Gaol. Along the way they visit such places as Robertson's Windmill, the Raleigh Tavern, the Wren Building, and trade shops, which offer penalties or bonus moves. The Blacksmith Shop sends a player ahead ten spaces, but the Pillory and Stocks send a player back to the starting site. Players draw Chance Cards from time to time that send them to one of the town's locations and include a bit of history. The Apothecary Shop card, for example, says, "In colonial days the Apothecary and Doctor supplied the housewife with herbs, spices and medicines. He also performed operations. An account book in the doctor's office tells us that Patrick Henry bought medicine in this shop."
Fiction, especially genre fiction, is an important part of American popular culture, and Colonial Williamsburg is an inviting backdrop to many a novel. Two examples of romances set in Williamsburg illustrate use of the restored city. Though both books are set in the 1770s, the careful reader understands that the landscape described is not an authentic eighteenth-century city. The modern restoration informed the author's vision, and there are anachronisms indicating that the past is seen through modern eyes. Lynne Hayworth's Autumn Flame, published by Zebra Books in 2001, details the adventures of Lucy Graves, a London pickpocket transported to Virginia as an indentured servant. Her travails in romance and revolution take place throughout Williamsburg and the countryside. Long segments play out on a plantation that is clearly based on Carter's Grove. Convincing details of costume, architecture, modes of travel, foodways, and indentured servants' daily lives build a story which rings true to the era it portrays.
Less satisfying as history is Corinne Everett's Loving Lily, Zebra, 2001. Lily Walters, described as an "ardent Patriot," becomes involved with her brother's intrigues with Virginia rebels in the days before the Revolution. The book is filled with twentieth-century language and details, not the least of which is Lily's occupation in Williamsburg. She is a florist with a shop based on modern examples, selling floral arrangements for weddings, family gatherings, and to decorate businesses. A good many of the novel's actions revolve around Lily's profession. No such florists existed in the 1770s. Lily's story ends just as does Lucy's—she lives happily ever after with her romantic hero.
More interesting are novels set, at least in part, in restored Williamsburg. Taffy Cannon's Guns and Roses, published by Perseverance Press in 2000, is a contemporary murder mystery involving a bus tour group led by Roxanne Prescott, former police-woman turned guide. Murder and mayhem are scattered throughout the Historic Area and countryside, including scenes at Carter's Grove, Market Square Tavern, the Magazine, and up and down Duke of Gloucester Street. Roxanne nabs the killer by the end of the novel.
Combining the past and present, M. G. McManus's romance trilogy Nicholson Street, Francis Street, and Duke of Gloucester Street, done by Colonial Publishing in 1986, 1988, and 1989, relate the adventures of archaeologist Charles Dalton, who stumbles on a portal to the past. Action meanders between the 1770s and the 1980s, letting the author comment on the details of the restoration while speculating on how a modern American would react to the unrest preceding the Revolution. Dalton interacts with Jefferson, Washington, George Wythe, and others. He brings eighteenth-century characters back to the 1980s, a device offering an opportunity to speculate on how colonial Virginians would react to modern Williamsburg and such phenomena as pizzas, alarm clocks, and televisions. The author's conceit works because Colonial Williamsburg becomes the main character.
In 1991, Felicity Merriman debuted as a perky nine-year-old Williamsburg resident on the eve of the American Revolution."
No popular culture phenomenon connected with Colonial Williamsburg can compete with Felicity Merriman, "a spunky, spritely nine-year-old girl" living in Williamsburg on the eve of the Revolution. Felicity was the first doll in the American Girls Collection issued by Pleasant Company in 1991. Combining popular culture genres, Pleasant Company marketed the eighteen-inch Felicity doll along with six books targeted at girls aged seven to twelve. There were colonial costumes for the doll and for the girls who owned her. Accessories included a Felicity-sized Windsor Writing Chair; her guitar; a tilt-top tea table and matching chairs; a chocolate set with pot, cups, and napkins; a bedroom suite with tall-post bed and tester, dressing table, clothes press, and bed warmer; as well as colonial toys and other eighteenth-century accouterments. Felicity's owners could purchase appropriate garb to wear as they play with their dolls, including a Rose Garden Gown, a Colonial School Outfit, and a Felicity Night Shift and Cap. The books recount Felicity's adventures as she helps persuade a runaway apprentice to return to his job, learns about slavery, helps break a horse, and experiences firsthand the growing Revolutionary ferment of Williamsburg in the 1770s.
Has Felicity had any impact on girls' understanding of Williamsburg's place in American history? Ask Dale Smoot, Colonial Williamsburg military historian and interpreter for more than sixteen years. In the spring of 2005, while conducting family groups on tours of the Magazine, Smoot began an informal survey, asking each group, "Has anyone here heard of the Powder Incident?"
Several girls, about eight to twelve, raised their hands, but almost never did young boys. Governor Dunmore's decision to send Royal marines to the Magazine in the middle of the night April 21, 1775, to take the colony's gunpowder is not so well known as a similar incident a few days before at Lexington and Concord. But these young girls knew about it though the boys did not. "How did you learn about Governor Dunmore's actions?" Smoot asked. "Felicity was there!" came the reply.
Sometimes for the better, and other times for the worse, the products of popular culture help shape and inform our understanding of the world around us, including our history.
Christopher Geist, professor emeritus at Ohio's Bowling Green State University, contributed a story to the winter 2006 journal about hurricanes.
Suggestions for further reading:
- Christopher Geist, "Living History Villages as Popular Entertainments," New England Journal of History, 51, no.2 (Fall 1994): 57–66
- The Journal of Popular Culture is available in most larger libraries and offers many insights into the nature and meaning of popular culture materials
- Russel B. Nye, The Unembarrassed Muse: The Popular Arts in America (New York, 1970)


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This article is more than 1 year old
Vodafone pulls 360 trick on Froyo hungry users
While T-Mobile tells them to learn German
Android updates are causing problems again, with Vodafone trying to foist 360 apps on users while T-Mobile does much the same thing, only in German.
Most of those with with an Android handset are waiting to get a Froyo (2.2) update, which promises higher speeds and greater stability, as well as the long-awaited support for Adobe Flash. But for Vodafone it's another opportunity to remind customers who really owns the phone in their pocket, and for T-Mobile a chance to spread the German language a little further.
T-Mobile customers got Froyo with their update to the HTC Desire, but for some it also brought a handful of branded applications - in German. But at least T-Mobile is addressing the issue, and users don't seem very bothered by having to use the "Mediencenter" and "Navigon", unlike those over at Vodafone who got the operator-branded apps, but not the update.
Vodafone customers with a Samsung Galaxy S were notified about a new update a few days before the promised delivery of Froyo. But those who've downloaded it have discovered the operator repeating its HTC Desire trick: installing a bundle of Vodafone branding, and branded applications, none of which can be removed.
Last time the operator recanted and issued a replacement update that removed the variant apps and branding. That was appreciated, but makes it all the more remarkable that it's tried the same thing again:
"Unfortunately the Vodafone update that you have received cannot be removed. However I understand how you feel about this and will feed this back to the powers that be just as we did with the feedback we received with the HTC Desire update," says a posting from Vodafone support chap Wayne. "I cannot promise that the same thing will happen but we will do our very best to let people know how you feel regarding this." Very supportive, but hardly presenting a unified corporate message.
The update includes a (poorly animated) Vodafone splash screen, a couple of trial games and applications providing access to Vodafone 360 services including the app and music stores, but critically there's no sign of the upgrade to Android 2.2 (Froyo), which isn't due for a few days yet.
Vodafone is pretty much obliged to push out 360 software to everyone it can these days, having poured so much money into the service that was supposed to create a future for the company as a content provider. The Vodafone 360 handsets have disappeared, leaving Android users the only hope for a service that few of them have even heard of. Pushing out applications to users is still the most efficient way to get them used, but one that must be measured against the annoyance caused - something that obviously still needs some work on Vodafone's part. ®

subset: commoncrawl


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Bandwidth-measuring site Speedtest.net updated today with a new look, more accurate bandwidth measuring tools, and a new feature, called Speed Wave, that allows you to compare your speeds with your peers.
In all, the update includes:
A complete UI overhall
Accounts for tracking results across your different computers: You don't need an account to access any of the site's basic features, but if you decide to sign up, you can manage your connections, group IP addresses, easily share the results page for your tests (nice for troubleshooting with your ISP), and so on.
Basic performance improvements: The test pings several severs closest to your IP address and automatically chooses the one with the lowest ping time; you can also still manually choose any server.
Speed Wave: Gathers a group of tests together. Any time we've posted about bandwidth speeds on Lifehacker, our comments fill up with screenshots of readers' speed tests. Speed Wave lets you group those sort of results in one easy-to-digest place.
Essentially it's the same old Speedtest.net with a few nice tweaks and improvements, but we thought it might be fun to kick the tires on a Lifehacker Speed Wave, so I've started one. The results page is here, and you can add your own test to the Speed Wave on this page. Click that link, click Begin Test, and Speedtest.net will measure your download and upload speeds and save the test to our Speed Wave. Should be interesting to see the variation in speeds among readers, though I suspect a lot of your tests will be a measure of work bandwidth rather than your home connection.


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Part of being metal is to be un-metal and to follow projects in a related spirit that do not necessarily use screaming guitars, blasting drums, howling guttural vocals and lyrics about doom.
Some in fact are more ambient. Take for example New England's Khand, a project band from members of well-known right coast black metal bands, which works in the dark ambient genre but with its own twist that more resembles the classics of psychedelic and cosmic ambient music.
The Fires of Celestial Ardour, released via Hi.Arc.Tow as a GPL-licensed free download, is "all over the place stylistically, but it's all done with a fantasy/sci-fi mindset," according to Khand creator Arillius.
Touting itself as music for fans of Tangerine Dream, RPG music, Dead Can Dance, Mortiis, Vangelis, Lord Wind, Winglord and related epic dark ambient projects, Khand is more playful than the norm but creates an atmosphere not of darkness, but of great possibility in which darkness and light are not destinations but means to an end.
"I keep this project all low-fi and try not to use any keyboards, samples or programs that came out post-2000," said Arillius, who is famed in north eastern black metal circles for his unusual lifestyle. He lives and records in a houseboat without windows anchored offshore, and much of his music reflects the motion of waves, the call of seagulls, and the occasional bloated corpse brushing up against the hull. Often he goes for months without human contact except to post misanthropic screeds on his Facebook Page.
For those who like ambient, but like it dark, and like dark ambient, but like it to have a range of emotions beyond "alone in my dark room with a sword," Khand provides a perfect listening experience that is also free of charge.
7 CommentsTags: arillius, dark ambient, khand


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Table of Contents
As the virtual machine will most probably expect to see a hard disk built into its virtual computer, VirtualBox must be able to present "real" storage to the guest as a virtual hard disk. There are presently three methods in which to achieve this:
Most commonly, VirtualBox will use large image files on a real hard disk and present them to a guest as a virtual hard disk. This is described in the section called "Disk image files (VDI, VMDK, VHD, HDD)".
Alternatively, if you have iSCSI storage servers, you can attach such a server to VirtualBox as well; this is described in the section called "iSCSI servers".
Finally, as an experimental feature, you can allow a virtual machine to access one of your host disks directly; this advanced feature is described in the section called "Using a raw host hard disk from a guest".
Each such virtual storage device (image file, iSCSI target or physical hard disk) will need to be connected to the virtual hard disk controller that VirtualBox presents to a virtual machine. This is explained in the next section.
In a real PC, hard disks and CD/DVD drives are connected to a device called hard disk controller which drives hard disk operation and data transfers. VirtualBox can emulate the four most common types of hard disk controllers typically found in today's PCs: IDE, SATA (AHCI), SCSI and SAS.[19]
IDE (ATA) controllers have been in use since the 1980s. Initially, this type of interface worked only with hard disks, but was later extended to also support CD-ROM drives and other types of removable media. In physical PCs, this standard uses flat ribbon parallel cables with 40 or 80 wires. Each such cable can connect two devices to a controller, which have traditionally been called "master" and "slave". Typical hard disk controllers have two connectors for such cables; as a result, most PCs support up to four devices.
In VirtualBox, each virtual machine has one IDE controller enabled by default, which gives you up to four virtual storage devices that you can attach to the machine. (By default, one of these four -- the secondary master -- is preconfigured to be the machine's virtual CD/DVD drive, but this can be changed.[20])
So even if your guest operating system has no support for SCSI or SATA devices, it should always be able to see the default IDE controller that is enabled by default.
You can also select which exact type of IDE controller hardware VirtualBox should present to the virtual machine (PIIX3, PIIX4 or ICH6). This makes no difference in terms of performance, but if you import a virtual machine from another virtualization product, the operating system in that machine may expect a particular controller and crash if it isn't found.
After you have created a new virtual machine with the "New Virtual Machine" wizard of the graphical user interface, you will typically see one IDE controller in the machine's "Storage" settings where the virtual CD/DVD drive will be attached to one of the four ports of this controller.
Serial ATA (SATA) is a newer standard introduced in 2003. Compared to IDE, it supports both much higher speeds and more devices per hard disk controller. Also, with physical hardware, devices can be added and removed while the system is running. The standard interface for SATA controllers is called Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI).
For compatibility reasons, AHCI controllers by default operate the disks attached to it in a so-called "IDE compatibility mode", unless SATA support is explicitly requested. "IDE compatibility mode" only means that the drives can be seen and operated by the computer's BIOS. Still, disks assigned to those slots will operate in full-speed AHCI mode once the guest operating system has loaded its AHCI device driver.
Like a real SATA controller, VirtualBox's virtual SATA controller operates faster and also consumes less CPU resources than the virtual IDE controller. Also, this allows you to connect up to 30 virtual hard disks to one machine instead of just three, as with the VirtualBox IDE controller (with the DVD drive already attached). Of these, the first four (numbered 0-3 in the graphical user interface) are operated in IDE compatibility mode by default.
For this reason, starting with version 3.2 and depending on the selected guest operating system, VirtualBox uses SATA as the default for newly created virtual machines. One virtual SATA controller is created by default, and the default disk that is created with a new VM is attached to this controller.
The entire SATA controller and the virtual disks attached to it (including those in IDE compatibility mode) will not be seen by operating systems that do not have device support for AHCI. In particular, there is no support for AHCI in Windows before Windows Vista, so Windows XP (even SP2) will not see such disks unless you install additional drivers. It is possible to switch from IDE to SATA after installation by installing the SATA drivers and changing the controller type in the VM settings dialog.[21]
To add a SATA controller to a machine for which it has not been enabled by default (either because it was created by an earlier version of VirtualBox, or because SATA is not supported by default by the selected guest operating system), go to the "Storage" page of the machine's settings dialog, click on the "Add Controller" button under the "Storage Tree" box and then select "Add SATA Controller". After this, the additional controller will appear as a separate PCI device in the virtual machine, and you can add virtual disks to it.
To change the IDE compatibility mode settings for the SATA controller, please see the section called "VBoxManage storagectl".
SCSI is another established industry standard, standing for "Small Computer System Interface". SCSI was standardized as early as 1986 as a generic interface for data transfer between all kinds of devices, including storage devices. Today SCSI is still used for connecting hard disks and tape devices, but it has mostly been displaced in commodity hardware. It is still in common use in high-performance workstations and servers.
Primarily for compatibility with other virtualization software, VirtualBox optionally supports LSI Logic and BusLogic SCSI controllers, to each of which up to 15 virtual hard disks can be attached.
To enable a SCSI controller, on the "Storage" page of a virtual machine's settings dialog, click on the "Add Controller" button under the "Storage Tree" box and then select "Add SCSI Controller". After this, the additional controller will appear as a separate PCI device in the virtual machine.
As with the other controller types, a SCSI controller will only be seen by operating systems with device support for it. Windows 2003 and later ships with drivers for the LSI Logic controller, while Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 ships with drivers for the BusLogic controller. Windows XP ships with drivers for neither.
Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) is another bus standard which uses the SCSI command set. As opposed to SCSI, however, with physical devices, serial cables are used instead of parallel ones, which simplifies physical device connections. In some ways, therefore, SAS is to SCSI what SATA is to IDE: it allows for more reliable and faster connections.
To support high-end guests which require SAS controllers, VirtualBox emulates a LSI Logic SAS controller, which can be enabled much the same way as a SCSI controller. At this time, up to eight devices can be connected to the SAS controller.
As with SATA, the SAS controller will only be seen by operating systems with device support for it. In particular, there is no support for SAS in Windows before Windows Vista, so Windows XP (even SP2) will not see such disks unless you install additional drivers.
In summary, VirtualBox gives you the following categories of virtual storage slots:
four slots attached to the traditional IDE controller, which are always present (one of which typically is a virtual CD/DVD drive);
30 slots attached to the SATA controller, if enabled and provided that your guest operating system can see it; these slots can either be
in IDE compatibility mode (by default, slots 0-3) or
in SATA mode;
15 slots attached to the SCSI controller, if enabled and supported by the guest operating system;
eight slots attached to the SAS controller, if enabled and supported by the guest operating system.
Given this large choice of storage controllers, you may ask yourself which one to choose. In general, you should avoid IDE unless it is the only controller supported by your guest. Whether you use SATA, SCSI or SAS does not make any real difference. The variety of controllers is only supplied for VirtualBox for compatibility with existing hardware and other hypervisors.
Disk image files reside on the host system and are seen by the guest systems as hard disks of a certain geometry. When a guest operating system reads from or writes to a hard disk, VirtualBox redirects the request to the image file.
Like a physical disk, a virtual disk has a size (capacity), which must be specified when the image file is created. As opposed to a physical disk however, VirtualBox allows you to expand an image file after creation, even if it has data already; see the section called "VBoxManage modifyhd" for details.[22]
VirtualBox supports four variants of disk image files:
Normally, VirtualBox uses its own container format for guest hard disks -- Virtual Disk Image (VDI) files. In particular, this format will be used when you create a new virtual machine with a new disk.
VirtualBox also fully supports the popular and open VMDK container format that is used by many other virtualization products, in particular, by VMware.[23]
VirtualBox also fully supports the VHD format used by Microsoft.
Image files of Parallels version 2 (HDD format) are also supported.[24] For lack of documentation of the format, newer formats (3 and 4) are not supported. You can however convert such image files to version 2 format using tools provided by Parallels.
Irrespective of the disk capacity and format, as briefly mentioned in the section called "Creating your first virtual machine", there are two options of how to create a disk image: fixed-size or dynamically expanding.
If you create a fixed-size image, an image file will be created on your host system which has roughly the same size as the virtual disk's capacity. So, for a 10G disk, you will have a 10G file. Note that the creation of a fixed-size image can take a long time depending on the size of the image and the write performance of your hard disk.
For more flexible storage management, use a dynamically expanding image. This will initially be very small and not occupy any space for unused virtual disk sectors, but the image file will grow every time a disk sector is written to for the first time. While this format takes less space initially, the fact that VirtualBox needs to constantly expand the image file consumes additional computing resources, so until the disk has fully expanded, write operations are slower than with fixed size disks. However, after a dynamic disk has fully expanded, the performance penalty for read and write operations is negligible.
VirtualBox keeps track of all the hard disk, CD/DVD-ROM and floppy disk images which are in use by virtual machines. These are often referred to as "known media" and come from two sources:
all media currently attached to virtual machines;
"registered" media for compatibility with VirtualBox versions older than version 4.0. For details about how media registration has changed with version 4.0, please refer to the section called "Where VirtualBox stores its files".
The known media can be viewed and changed in the Virtual Media Manager, which you can access from the "File" menu in the VirtualBox main window:
The known media are conveniently grouped in three tabs for the three possible formats. These formats are:
Hard disk images, either in VirtualBox's own Virtual Disk Image (VDI) format or in the third-party formats listed in the previous chapter;
CD/DVD images in standard ISO format;
floppy images in standard RAW format.
As you can see in the screenshot above, for each image, the Virtual Media Manager shows you the full path of the image file and other information, such as the virtual machine the image is currently attached to, if any.
The Virtual Media Manager allows you to
remove an image from the registry (and optionally delete the image file when doing so);
"release" an image, that is, detach it from a virtual machine if it is currently attached to one as a virtual hard disk.
Starting with version 4.0, to create new disk images, please use the "Storage" page in a virtual machine's settings dialog because disk images are now by default stored in each machine's own folder.
Hard disk image files can be copied onto other host systems and imported into virtual machines there, although certain guest systems (notably Windows 2000 and XP) will require that the new virtual machine be set up in a similar way to the old one.
Do not simply make copies of virtual disk images. If you import such a second copy into a virtual machine, VirtualBox will complain with an error, since VirtualBox assigns a unique identifier (UUID) to each disk image to make sure it is only used once. See the section called "Cloning disk images" for instructions on this matter. Also, if you want to copy a virtual machine to another system, VirtualBox has an import/export facility that might be better suited for your needs; see the section called "Importing and exporting virtual machines".
For each virtual disk image supported by VirtualBox, you can determine separately how it should be affected by write operations from a virtual machine and snapshot operations. This applies to all of the aforementioned image formats (VDI, VMDK, VHD or HDD) and irrespective of whether an image is fixed-size or dynamically expanding.
By default, images are in "normal" mode. To mark an existing image
with one of the non-standard modes listed below, use
VBoxManage modifyhd
; see the section called "VBoxManage modifyhd". Alternatively, use VBoxManage to attach
the image to a VM and use the --mtype
argument; see the section called "VBoxManage storageattach".
With normal images (the default setting), there are no restrictions on how guests can read from and write to the disk.
When you take a snapshot of your virtual machine as described in the section called "Snapshots", the state of such a "normal hard disk" will be recorded together with the snapshot, and when reverting to the snapshot, its state will be fully reset.
(Technically, strictly speaking, the image file itself is not "reset". Instead, when a snapshot is taken, VirtualBox "freezes" the image file and no longer writes to it. For the write operations from the VM, a second, "differencing" image file is created which receives only the changes to the original image; see the next section for details.)
While you can attach the same "normal" image to more than one virtual machine, only one of these virtual machines attached to the same image file can be executed simultaneously, as otherwise there would be conflicts if several machines write to the same image file.[25]
By contrast, write-through hard disks are completely unaffected by snapshots: their state is not saved when a snapshot is taken, and not restored when a snapshot is restored.
Shareable hard disks are a variant of write-through hard disks. In principle they behave exactly the same, i.e. their state is not saved when a snapshot is taken, and not restored when a snapshot is restored. The difference only shows if you attach such disks to several VMs. Shareable VMs may be attached to several VMs which may run concurrently. This makes them suitable for use by cluster filesystems between VMs and similar applications which are explicitly prepared to access a disk concurrently. Only fixed size images can be used in this way, and dynamically growing images are rejected.
This is an expert feature, and misuse can lead to data loss -- regular filesystems are not prepared to handle simultaneous changes by several parties.
Next, immutable images only remember write accesses temporarily while the virtual machine is running; all changes are lost when the virtual machine is powered on the next time. As a result, as opposed to "normal" images, the same immutable image can be used with several virtual machines without restrictions.
Creating an immutable image makes little sense since it would be initially empty and lose its contents with every machine restart (unless you really want to have a disk that is always unformatted when the machine starts up). As a result, normally, you would first create a "normal" image and then, when you deem its contents useful, later mark it immutable.
If you take a snapshot of a machine with immutable images, then on every machine power-up, those images are reset to the state of the last (current) snapshot (instead of the state of the original immutable image).
As a special exception, immutable images are not reset if they are attached to a machine whose last snapshot was taken while the machine was running (a so-called "online" snapshot). As a result, if the machine's current snapshot is such an "online" snapshot, its immutable images behave exactly like the "normal" images described previously. To re-enable the automatic resetting of such images, delete the current snapshot of the machine.
Again, technically, VirtualBox never writes to an immutable image directly at all. All write operations from the machine will be directed to a differencing image; the next time the VM is powered on, the differencing image is reset so that every time the VM starts, its immutable images have exactly the same content.[26] The differencing image is only reset when the machine is powered on from within VirtualBox, not when you reboot by requesting a reboot from within the machine. This is also why immutable images behave as described above when snapshots are also present, which use differencing images as well.
If the automatic discarding of the differencing image on VM
startup does not fit your needs, you can turn it off using the
parameter of
VBoxManage modifyhd
; see the section called "VBoxManage modifyhd" for details.
An image in multiattach mode can be attached to more than one virtual machine at the same time, even if these machines are running simultaneously. For each virtual machine to which such an image is attached, a differencing image is created. As a result, data that is written to such a virtual disk by one machine is not seen by the other machines to which the image is attached; each machine creates its own write history of the multiattach image.
Technically, a "multiattach" image behaves identically to an "immutable" image except the differencing image is not reset every time the machine starts.
Finally, the read-only image is used automatically for CD/DVD images, since CDs/DVDs can never be written to.
To illustrate the differences between the various types with respect to snapshots: Assume you have installed your guest operating system in your VM, and you have taken a snapshot. Imagine you have accidentally infected your VM with a virus and would like to go back to the snapshot. With a normal hard disk image, you simply restore the snapshot, and the earlier state of your hard disk image will be restored as well (and your virus infection will be undone). With an immutable hard disk, all it takes is to shut down and power on your VM, and the virus infection will be discarded. With a write-through image however, you cannot easily undo the virus infection by means of virtualization, but will have to disinfect your virtual machine like a real computer.
Still, you might find write-through images useful if you want to preserve critical data irrespective of snapshots, and since you can attach more than one image to a VM, you may want to have one immutable for the operating system and one write-through for your data files.
The previous section hinted at differencing images and how they are used with snapshots, immutable images and multiple disk attachments. For the inquisitive VirtualBox user, this section describes in more detail how they work.
A differencing image is a special disk image that only holds the differences to another image. A differencing image by itself is useless, it must always refer to another image. The differencing image is then typically referred to as a "child", which holds the differences to its "parent".
When a differencing image is active, it receives all write operations from the virtual machine instead of its parent. The differencing image only contains the sectors of the virtual hard disk that have changed since the differencing image was created. When the machine reads a sector from such a virtual hard disk, it looks into the differencing image first. If the sector is present, it is returned from there; if not, VirtualBox looks into the parent. In other words, the parent becomes "read-only"; it is never written to again, but it is read from if a sector has not changed.
Differencing images can be chained. If another differencing image is created for a virtual disk that already has a differencing image, then it becomes a "grandchild" of the original parent. The first differencing image then becomes read-only as well, and write operations only go to the second-level differencing image. When reading from the virtual disk, VirtualBox needs to look into the second differencing image first, then into the first if the sector was not found, and then into the original image.
There can be an unlimited number of differencing images, and each image can have more than one child. As a result, the differencing images can form a complex tree with parents, "siblings" and children, depending on how complex your machine configuration is. Write operations always go to the one "active" differencing image that is attached to the machine, and for read operations, VirtualBox may need to look up all the parents in the chain until the sector in question is found. You can look at such a tree in the Virtual Media Manager:
In all of these situations, from the point of view of the virtual machine, the virtual hard disk behaves like any other disk. While the virtual machine is running, there is a slight run-time I/O overhead because VirtualBox might need to look up sectors several times. This is not noticeable however since the tables with sector information are always kept in memory and can be looked up quickly.
Differencing images are used in the following situations:
Snapshots. When you create a snapshot, as explained in the previous section, VirtualBox "freezes" the images attached to the virtual machine and creates differencing images for each of them (to be precise: one for each image that is not in "write-through" mode). From the point of view of the virtual machine, the virtual disks continue to operate before, but all write operations go into the differencing images. Each time you create another snapshot, for each hard disk attachment, another differencing image is created and attached, forming a chain or tree.
In the above screenshot, you see that the original disk image is now attached to a snapshot, representing the state of the disk when the snapshot was taken.
If you now restore a snapshot -- that is, if you want to go back to the exact machine state that was stored in the snapshot --, the following happens:
VirtualBox copies the virtual machine settings that were copied into the snapshot back to the virtual machine. As a result, if you have made changes to the machine configuration since taking the snapshot, they are undone.
If the snapshot was taken while the machine was running, it contains a saved machine state, and that state is restored as well; after restoring the snapshot, the machine will then be in "Saved" state and resume execution from there when it is next started. Otherwise the machine will be in "Powered Off" state and do a full boot.
For each disk image attached to the machine, the differencing image holding all the write operations since the current snapshot was taken is thrown away, and the original parent image is made active again. (If you restored the "root" snapshot, then this will be the root disk image for each attachment; otherwise, some other differencing image descended from it.) This effectively restores the old machine state.
If you later delete a snapshot in order to free disk space, for each disk attachment, one of the differencing images becomes obsolete. In this case, the differencing image of the disk attachment cannot simply be deleted. Instead, VirtualBox needs to look at each sector of the differencing image and needs to copy it back into its parent; this is called "merging" images and can be a potentially lengthy process, depending on how large the differencing image is. It can also temporarily need a considerable amount of extra disk space, before the differencing image obsoleted by the merge operation is deleted.
Immutable images. When an image is switched to "immutable" mode, a differencing image is created as well. As with snapshots, the parent image then becomes read-only, and the differencing image receives all the write operations. Every time the virtual machine is started, all the immutable images which are attached to it have their respective differencing image thrown away, effectively resetting the virtual machine's virtual disk with every restart.
You can duplicate hard disk image files on the same host to quickly produce a second virtual machine with the same operating system setup. However, you should only make copies of virtual disk images using the utility supplied with VirtualBox; see the section called "VBoxManage clonehd". This is because VirtualBox assigns a unique identity number (UUID) to each disk image, which is also stored inside the image, and VirtualBox will refuse to work with two images that use the same number. If you do accidentally try to reimport a disk image which you copied normally, you can make a second copy using VirtualBox's utility and import that instead.
Note that newer Linux distributions identify the boot hard disk from
the ID of the drive. The ID VirtualBox reports for a drive is determined
from the UUID of the virtual disk image. So if you clone a disk image and
try to boot the copied image the guest might not be able to determine its
own boot disk as the UUID changed. In this case you have to adapt the disk
ID in your boot loader script (for example
). The disk ID looks
like this:
The ID for the copied image can be determined with
hdparm -i /dev/sda
Starting with version 3.2, VirtualBox can optionally disable the I/O caching that the host operating system would otherwise perform on disk image files.
Traditionally, VirtualBox has opened disk image files as normal files, which results in them being cached by the host operating system like any other file. The main advantage of this is speed: when the guest OS writes to disk and the host OS cache uses delayed writing, the write operation can be reported as completed to the guest OS quickly while the host OS can perform the operation asynchronously. Also, when you start a VM a second time and have enough memory available for the OS to use for caching, large parts of the virtual disk may be in system memory, and the VM can access the data much faster.
Note that this applies only to image files; buffering never occurred virtual disks residing on remote iSCSI storage, which is the more common scenario in enterprise-class setups (see the section called "iSCSI servers").
While buffering is a useful default setting for virtualizating a few machines on a desktop computer, there are some disadvantages to this approach:
Delayed writing through the host OS cache is less secure. When the guest OS writes data, it considers the data written even though it has not yet arrived on a physical disk. If for some reason the write does not happen (power failure, host crash), the likelihood of data loss increases.
Disk image files tend to be very large. Caching them can therefore quickly use up the entire host OS cache. Depending on the efficiency of the host OS caching, this may slow down the host immensely, especially if several VMs run at the same time. For example, on Linux hosts, host caching may result in Linux delaying all writes until the host cache is nearly full and then writing out all these changes at once, possibly stalling VM execution for minutes. This can result in I/O errors in the guest as I/O requests time out there.
Physical memory is often wasted as guest operating systems typically have their own I/O caches, which may result in the data being cached twice (in both the guest and the host caches) for little effect.
If you decide to disable host I/O caching for the above reasons, VirtualBox uses its own small cache to buffer writes, but no read caching since this is typically already performed by the guest OS. In addition, VirtualBox fully supports asynchronous I/O for its virtual SATA, SCSI and SAS controllers through multiple I/O threads.
Since asynchronous I/O is not supported by IDE controllers, for performance reasons, you may want to leave host caching enabled for your VM's virtual IDE controllers.
For this reason, VirtualBox allows you to configure whether the host I/O cache is used for each I/O controller separately. Either uncheck the "Use host I/O cache" box in the "Storage" settings for a given virtual storage controller, or use the following VBoxManage command to disable the host I/O cache for a virtual storage controller:
VBoxManage storagectl <vm> --name <controllername> --hostiocache off
See the section called "VBoxManage storagectl" for details.
For the above reasons also, VirtualBox now uses SATA controllers by default for new virtual machines.
Starting with version 4.0, VirtualBox allows for limiting the maximum bandwidth used for asynchronous I/O. Additionally it supports sharing limits through bandwidth groups for several images. It is possible to have more than one such limit.
Limits are configured through
. The example below creates a
bandwidth group named "Limit", sets the limit to 20 MB/s and assigns the
group to the attached disks of the VM:
VBoxManage bandwidthctl "VM name" --name Limit --add disk --limit 20 VBoxManage storageattach "VM name" --controller "SATA" --port 0 --device 0 --type hdd --medium disk1.vdi --bandwidthgroup Limit VBoxManage storageattach "VM name" --controller "SATA" --port 1 --device 0 --type hdd --medium disk2.vdi --bandwidthgroup Limit
All disks in a group share the bandwidth limit, meaning that in the example above the bandwidth of both images combined can never exceed 20 MB/s. However if one disk doesn't require bandwidth the other can use the remaining bandwidth of its group.
The limits for each group can be changed while the VM is running, with changes being picked up immediately. The example below changes the limit for the group created in the example above to 10 MB/s:
VBoxManage bandwidthctl "VM name" --name Limit --limit 10
The virtual CD/DVD drive(s) by default support only reading. The medium configuration is changeable at runtime. You can select between three options to provide the medium data:
Host Drive defines that the guest can read from the medium in the host drive.
Image file (typically an ISO file) gives the guest read-only access to the data in the image.
Empty stands for a drive without an inserted medium.
Changing between the above, or changing a medium in the host drive that is accessed by a machine, or changing an image file will signal a medium change to the guest operating system, which can then react to the change (e.g. by starting an installation program).
Medium changes can be prevented by the guest, and VirtualBox reflects that by locking the host drive if appropriate. You can force a medium removal in such situations via the VirtualBox GUI or the VBoxManage command line tool. Effectively this is the equivalent of the emergency eject which many CD/DVD drives provide, with all associated side effects: the guest OS can issue error messages, just like on real hardware, and guest applications may misbehave. Use this with caution.
The identification string of the drive provided to the guest (which, in the guest, would be displayed by configuration tools such as the Windows Device Manager) is always "VBOX CD-ROM", irrespective of the current configuration of the virtual drive. This is to prevent hardware detection from being triggered in the guest operating system every time the configuration is changed.
The standard CD/DVD emulation allows for reading standard data CD and DVD formats only. As an experimental feature, for additional capabilities, it is possible to give the guest direct access to the CD/DVD host drive by enabling "passthrough" mode. Depending on the host hardware, this may enable three things to work, potentially:
CD/DVD writing from within the guest, if the host DVD drive is a CD/DVD writer;
playing audio CDs;
playing encrypted DVDs.
There is a "Passthrough" checkbox in the GUI dialog for configuring
the media attached to a storage controller, or you can use the
option with
VBoxManage storageattach
; see the section called "VBoxManage storageattach" for details.
Even if pass-through is enabled, unsafe commands, such as updating the drive firmware, will be blocked. Video CD formats are never supported, not even in passthrough mode, and cannot be played from a virtual machine.
On Solaris hosts, pass-through requires running VirtualBox with real root permissions due to security measures enforced by the host.
iSCSI stands for "Internet SCSI" and is a standard that allows for using the SCSI protocol over Internet (TCP/IP) connections. Especially with the advent of Gigabit Ethernet, it has become affordable to attach iSCSI storage servers simply as remote hard disks to a computer network. In iSCSI terminology, the server providing storage resources is called an "iSCSI target", while the client connecting to the server and accessing its resources is called "iSCSI initiator".
VirtualBox can transparently present iSCSI remote storage to a virtual machine as a virtual hard disk. The guest operating system will not see any difference between a virtual disk image (VDI file) and an iSCSI target. To achieve this, VirtualBox has an integrated iSCSI initiator.
VirtualBox's iSCSI support has been developed according to the iSCSI standard and should work with all standard-conforming iSCSI targets. To use an iSCSI target with VirtualBox, you must use the command line; see the section called "VBoxManage storageattach".
[19] SATA support was added with VirtualBox 1.6; experimental SCSI support was added with 2.1 and fully implemented with 2.2. Generally, storage attachments were made much more flexible with VirtualBox 3.1; see below. Support for the LSI Logic SAS controller was added with VirtualBox 3.2.
[20] The assignment of the machine's CD/DVD drive to the secondary master was fixed before VirtualBox 3.1; it is now changeable, and the drive can be at other slots of the IDE controller, and there can be more than one such drive.
[21] VirtualBox recommends the Intel Matrix Storage drivers which can be downloaded from http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product_Filter.aspx?ProductID=2101.
[22] Image resizing was added with VirtualBox 4.0.
[23] Initial support for VMDK was added with VirtualBox 1.4; since version 2.1, VirtualBox supports VMDK fully, meaning that you can create snapshots and use all the other advanced features described above for VDI images with VMDK also.
[24] Support was added with VirtualBox 3.1.
[25] This restriction is more lenient now than it was before VirtualBox 2.2. Previously, each "normal" disk image could only be attached to one single machine. Now it can be attached to more than one machine so long as only one of these machines is running.
[26] This behavior also changed with VirtualBox 2.2. Previously, the differencing images were discarded when the machine session ended; now they are discarded every time the machine is powered on.


text:
We Get Gutters Clean Richmond
The Best Service At The Right Price. We Are Here To Help Make Your Life Easy.
We Get Gutters Clean Richmond can help you with your rain gutter cleaning needs. No matter how clogged your gutters may be, our high-quality gutter cleaning and inspection service will get them clean. And you will never have to fret about attempting to clean them yourself ever again. We Get Gutters Clean is a national in gutter and downspout cleaning services.
Richmond () is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond Region. Richmond was incorporated in 1742 and has been an independent city since 1871. At the 2010 census, the city's population was 204,214; in 2020, the population had grown to 226,610, making Richmond the fourth-most populous city in Virginia. The Richmond Metropolitan Area has a population of 1,260,029, the third-most populous metro in the state.
Beaufont, Bellemeade, Belmont Woods, Belt Center, Brauers, Brookland Park, Carillon, Carver, Carytown, Chimborazo, Church Hill, Church Hill North, Colonial Place, Court End, Davee Gardens


text:
Rainbow Gold - 22 days
"It takes sunshine AND rain to make a rainbow." 🌈
2.6" width, 6.2" diameter of necklace approx.
Handbeaded in Colombia
The Embera Chami indigenous tribe from Colombia use techniques passed down through generations from their ancestors who they believe guide them in creation of each piece. Depending on the design detail and years of experience of artisan, bead work can take from a week up to 33 days to hand-weave beads into this design just for you!
Wear with Care
Wear with Care
Although it can get wet, for longevity we recommend to "wear with care" by not overexposing to the element of water or long direct exposure to the sun.
Return + Exchange Policy
Return + Exchange Policy
Thank you for your purchase. We hope you are happy with our heARTwork.
However, if you are not completely satisfied with your purchase for any reason, you may return it to us for store credit or an exchange. For more information, check out our return policy.
Preorders are "made to order" - what this means is that when we receive the order this piece is exclusively HANDMADE just FOR YOU.
We also depend on our best friend, father sun - so to infuse the SUN'S ENERGY into your piece of heARTwork! Real fruit, flower and seed jewelry depends on the sun to dry and be ready, so it takes ideally 2-3 weeks to be created and then the typical delivery time frame is anywhere from 10-20 business days for shipping. This also applies to handbeaded indigenous jewelry as every bead is strung one by one just for you!
In our fast paced driven world we ask that you take a moment to reflect on the divine flow of mother nature and ask yourself where you can practice the virtue of PATIENCE to experience true (delayed) gratification.
We believe true beauty is when YOU are YOU-nique!
In honor of this, our heARTwork will be unique to you - seed placement, shape and size will vary (even from picture) - because true to nature no one is the same - and that is true beauty!


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Complete the Address Request/Verification Application.
For properties outside Orange Beach city limits, please refer to Baldwin County E-911's GIS-Addressing.
Show All Answers
Duplexes are not allowed in the RS-2 or RS-3 zoning districts. Duplexes are allowed in RS-1 if granted a conditional use approval by City Council. To be eligible for conditional use approval, the RS-1 lots must meet the following conditions:
A permit* is required for new or reconstructed boat slips, boat houses, boat docks, and bulkheads. Prior to issuance of a city permit, the applicant must provide document ensuring approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources State Lands Division.
*Boat slips, boat houses, boat docks require a Building Permit (SubType: Marine Accessory).*Bulkheads require a Site Permit with the "Wall, Retaining Wall, Bulkhead Permit" portion completed.
The State of Alabama mandates insurance discounts for homes that have been issued a "Fortified Designation" as provided by the Fortified Home™ Program. Compliance with Orange Beach construction standards will qualify a home for a "Gold Fortified Designation', but only if the home is verified by approved third party inspections. Roof replacement in Orange Beach may qualify the home for a "Bronze" designation when third party inspections are performed. Flood Insurance discounts are also available due to the City's participation in the Community Rating System.
In order to determine whether there are wetlands located on your property, please contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at 251-690-2658 or the Alabama Department of Environmental Management at 251-304-1176.
Permits are still required even if the property owner does all of the work and does not hire a contractor.
Some licensure exemptions are available to property owners who act as their own contractor. Please refer to the HOMEOWNER EXEMPTIONS section on the Contractor Requirements page for more details.
Forestry mowing or hand clearing vegetation is allowed as long as jurisdictional wetlands are not impacted. Removal of protected trees with a 6-inch or greater diameter at chest height is prohibited without a tree removal permit. Fill placement on a vacant lot is prohibited unless a building permit has been issued or is actively in review at the Community Development Department.
Occupied recreational vehicles (RV) are allowed only in recreational vehicle parks and designated areas of mobile home parks. Unoccupied recreational vehicles may be parked at an owner's residence or business but cannot be connected to water and sewer utilities. Recreational vehicles may be used by a homeowner while he/she is building a residence. The RV must be hooked up to water and sewer/septic tank, and the owner must have garbage service. The RV cannot be occupied longer than 6 months while the residence is under construction.
A Building Permit (SubType: Accessory Building) is required prior to constructing or placing a shed on your property. Please review the Accessory Structure Requirements & Guidelines (PDF) or contact Community Development for any further questions.
The city has a tree protection ordinance that restricts the removal of certain sizes and types of trees. Prior to removing or pruning a tree, please contact Community Development to verify whether the proposed work requires a Tree Removal Permit*.
*The Tree Removal Permit is part of the Site Permit application on the Permit Portal.
Following a disaster, the City must provide damage estimates to the Federal Government in order to be eligible for Federal grant money. Acquiring a permit for all repair work assists the City in demonstrating eligibility for Federal assistance. Do not begin permanent repairs following a declared disaster until your property damage has been assessed and recorded by the City and a repair permit has been issued.
For copies of Elevation Certificates, call Community Development at 251-981-2610 or email the Permit Technician, Suzy Williams.
You can verify whether your property is located within a flood zone by utilizing the Orange Beach Interactive Floodplain Map or the ADECA Interactive Flood Map http://maps.digitalmapcentral.com/production/VECommunityView/cities/orangebeach_al/index.aspx# . Community Development has current and archived Flood Insurance Rate Maps on file and is available to assist you in determining whether your property is located in a flood zone, provide determination letters, and to answer any questions you may have. Contact the Floodplain Administrator by phone or email.
When building in an "AE" flood zone, the finished floor of the structure must be elevated a minimum of 2 feet above the Base Flood Elevation. When building in a "VE" flood zone, the lowest horizontal structural member of the structure must be a minimum of 3 feet above the Base Flood Elevation. Community Development also maintains Elevation Certificates for structures constructed within a Special Flood Hazard Area.
The Community Development Department is open from 7 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday.
For single-family residential-zoned properties, the required front setback is 30 feet; the required rear setback is 20 feet; and the required side setbacks are 10 feet. Setbacks are applied from the property line.
The maximum height for fences on residential properties is 6 feet. Fences located within the front yard setback (30 feet from front property line), cannot exceed 4 feet in height. Fences shall be installed with the finished side facing the adjoining property or public or private right-of-way. Fence posts must be located on the inside of the fence facing the property on which the fence is located. Posts and supporting members may be viewable if the fence has a shadowbox design or uses panels across the front and back to give the fence a finished appearance on both sides. There are no setback requirements for fences, and a permit is not required.
A Stormwater Permit* must be obtained from Community Development before placement of any type of fill.
White beach quality sand is accepted in all areas of the city, however the placement of clay and dark colored fill is restricted in certain areas. A sample of the proposed fill material must be submitted to the Community Development office prior to issuance of a Stormwater Permit.
*The Stormwater Permit is part of the Site Permit application on the Permit Portal.
Permits are generally required for all work on new and existing structures and systems other than maintenance. The best way to determine if a permit is required is to call the Building Department at 251-981-2610 before you begin any work.
All Building Department permit applications are processed through the Orange Beach Permit Portal.
Within this portal, you may apply for permits, upload construction plans and other documents, check application review status, pay for permits, request inspections, and much more. The portal is compatible with most tech devices - phones, tablets, laptops, and desktop computers. You can log in anytime and anywhere - from your office, home, or even from the jobsite. The portal is most compatible with the Google Chrome internet browser.
Permits may only be issued to the property owner or the owner's contractor.
If the property owner is paying a contractor to do the work, the contractor should submit the permit application, copies of their licenses, detailed scope of work, and required documents. However, it is the property owner's responsibility to make sure permits are obtained. Always ask to see the permits before the work begins.
Refer to the Permit Fee Schedule (PDF) for the cost of permits.
Permit fees can only be paid after the permit application is approved (with the exception of Plan Review Fees*¹). The applicant will receive a notification email when the permit status is "Approved, Awaiting Payment."
No work should begin on the project until after the payment is processed by Community Development staff and the permit status is "Issued."
*¹ Plan Review Fees are due at the time of application and are non-refundable.*² There is a 3% convenience fee that applies to all credit and debit card transactions.*³ Make all checks payable to "City of Orange Beach."
A dune walkover may be constructed provided that:
Please refer to "S8 Glazed Openings" on pages 10-11 of the Coastal Construction Code Supplement (PDF).
A Building Permit is required for window installation. The manufacturer specifications for the windows shall be submitted with the permit application.


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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Scones
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 large egg
1/4 cup dried milk powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Egg wash & Cinnamon-sugar (optional)
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg; whisk in sugar until combined. In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, egg, milk powder and vanilla. Knead butter into flour mixture until pea-sized lumps form. Fold pumpkin mixture into dry ingredients, until just combined. Pat dough into an 8-inch round on a surface dusted with sugar. Cut into 8 equal triangles. Transfer to a greased cookie sheet. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.
Bake 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown and well risen. Cool 1 minute before transferring to wire racks.
Makes 8 scones


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Bike Versus Truck: Who Is Top Dirt Dog?
The Late Jeff "Ox" Kargola Helped Us Choose Our Weapon Before His Last Ride
A few months back, the guys at Dirt Rider magazine hit us up, wanting to place a bet on which vehicle would win in a dogfight: a Baja racing-inspired JCR Honda CRF450X or a SuperLite Championship truck. And it's a great question. Who would win?! Historically dirt bikes have typically been faster in races like the Baja 1000, but what about when you add in some tighter turns and a smaller track?
We knew one guy in particular who raced both trucks and motorcycles and was a great guy to have around, so the call was made to Jeff "Ox" Kargola to bring out his dirt bike and General Tire-sponsored short-course truck to put some validity to the claims.
Little did we know that this would be the last shoot we'd ever get to do with Ox, and that just days later, he'd be involved in a fatal motorcycle accident while riding in Baja Mexico with friends. We're lucky to have met him, and we hope that he is riding in peace.
Ox was an excellent candidate to perform our comparisons for both magazines, and with General Tire's and LOORS's help, we were able to get a day to ourselves at the Glen Helen Raceway. Having Ox behind both vehicles would also make the comparison as fair as possible. He had just won the SCORE San Felipe 250 on the bike and took home the win in Round 2 of the LOORS Series in March.
We are grateful we got to spend the day with Jeff as he showed us his amazing well-rounded skills on the bike and in the truck. He will always be remembered as a great friend to the entire off-road community.
DOB: November 29, 1983
Hometown: San Clemente, California
Favorite Artist: Picasso
Nickname: Ox
Started Riding: Age 12
Turned Pro: Age 16
First Motorcycle: Yamaha YZ80
Favorite Movie: The Big Lebowski
Most Memorable Race: 2010 SCORE San Felipe
Accomplishments: 2004 WFA Big Air Points Champion, 2005 Winter X Games Best Truck Silver Medal, 2006 "Big Huckin Chicken" in Burger King commercial, 2009 SCORE San Felipe, 2009 SCORE Baja 500, 2009 SCORE Baja 1000, 2010 SCORE San Felipe 1st Place, 2010 SCORE Baja 500.
Personal quote: "Life is what you make it!"
SuperLite Champsionship Truck
The LOORS SuperLite series is a spec class designed to prove one thing: who is better behind the wheel. The entire field driving the same vehicle keeps the competition high. In Baja, cash has a huge impact on results. Around a short-course in a SuperLite, skill slays all. Something unique to SuperLite racing is their Arrive & Drive Program. Whether you want to just come out and race for the weekend or take on the entire series, they have a package designed just for you.
You get a fully prepared SuperLite off-road race truck, professional pit assignment, professional pit crew that includes a designated crew chief and spotter, all race support equipment, hospitality for one driver and guest, one set of race tires, VP race fuel and a ton of promotional opportunities. Season lease package price is $52,000, which includes all seven races in the series and entry fees. Race weekend rental package price is $7,500 for the single race weekend and entry fees. $52,000 may sound like a ton of cash, but if you're seriously thinking about racing, the price tag is fairly low. For those of you who do race, think about how much you spent building your last truck, all the money that went into prep, entry fees and numerous other expenses for a race season. The price tag is low if all you're in for is the thrill and the glory.
Truck Specifications
Fully-welded 1 5/8-inch DOM chassis w/ driver & passenger side plating & gusseting as mandated by the Lucas Oil Off Road Series regulations
Full aluminum panel package w/ roof panel as mandated by the Lucas Oil Off Road Series Regulations
Fully TIG-welded 4130 boxed trailing arm rear suspension
Fully TIG-welded 4130 boxed upper & lower front control arms
FOX Racing bypass shocks
FPO aluminum front & rear hubs
12-inch vented rotors w/ four-piston calipers
930 CV joints
Mendeola transaxle w/ Weddle gearset
15-inch KMC beadlock wheels
16-gallon racing fuel cell
Six-piece body / black ABS
Kartek power-assist steering
Five-point racing belts
Fire system
30x9.50R15 race tires
Mazda 13B rotary engine
Racing driver seat
Johnny Campbell Racing (JCR) Honda CRF450X Race Bike
We have been on a few bikes in our day, but nothing like the bike Ox raced in Baja. JCR takes a bone stock $7,899 Honda CRF450X and transforms it into a $21,529 speed machine. We aren't bike guys by trade, so we asked the team at JCR to send over a spec sheet to get a better idea of how much of that stock bike is still retained. In short, not much. That price tag includes the parts listed below plus more, as well as more than $4,000 in labor, which includes Pro Circuit cylinder head porting, JCR motor build including jetting, JCR race prep wheels and JCR race prep frame-up. It is tough for us as truck guys to justify the need for this much bike, but if it were a truck, we would simply smile and say, "Yes, please."
Bike Specifications
Pro Circuit suspension tuned to each racer's individual style and preference
Pro Circuit exhaust and motors
Pro Circuit povides cylinder head porting and key engine performance enhancing components to JCR/Honda
Dunlop tires
Renthal bars
Renthal sprockets
IMS dry break fuel tanks for extra capacity and speed
IMS foot pegs
Hinson Clutch
Dirt Digits custom graphics for JCR/Honda Team bikes
Lucas Oil lubricants
Acerbis hand guards, skid plates and foot peg guards
DID chains
VP race fuel
Works Connection adjustable clutch perch, aluminum throttle tubes and glide plates
Berkeley Honda oil cooler and starter button case
BRP triple clamps and chain guides
Scotts Performance steering dampener
Seal savers suspension protection components
On The Track
During our test day at Glen Helen Raceway, Ox pushed both the bike and truck to their limits. As unbelievable as this may sound, lap after lap, both the truck and bike finished with the exact same time, 53.1 seconds. Dirt Rider Editor Jimmy Lewis took a turn around the track on the bike to see how we would compare to Ox, finishing with an impressive time of 53.2 seconds. His time behind the wheel of the SuperLite was around 20 seconds behind Ox, but in his defense, Jimmy is a bike guy first and foremost.
Both the bike and truck had advantages and disadvantages on the short course track. The bike accelerated quicker through the flat sections and whoops but did suffer from its suspension being set up for Baja, resulting in a lack of stability coming through turns. Having four tires on the ground helped the truck drift through corners with ease and being setup for this terrain, the truck did not suffer any suspension-packing issues, soaring over each jump. In the end, the bike slightly outran the truck into the turns, where the truck caught the bike every time.
Ownership Rights
As much as we begged, Jeff didn't let us take his SuperLite or CRF450X home for the weekend. So, we don't feel it would be fair to talk about how each of these machines did away from the track. Having owned both bikes and trucks over the years, we can assemble a list of what we think are the good and bad points of owning both vehicles for the average Joe. To be fair, we chose the same number of each for both even though we could think of another 10 reasons why we love trucks.
Dirt Bike: Pros & Cons
- + Lightweight machine that can go anywhere if you have the skills
- + Lower initial cost versus a truck
- + Easy transport
- + Less maintenance
- + Cheaper to race
- - You are more likely to get injured
- - Takes more time getting suited up, even for short rides
- - Riding alone is not advised
- - Need to constantly watch out for much larger vehicles on the trail
- - A small problem could stop your entire ride
Prerunner Truck: Pros & Cons
- + In addition to safety belts, race seats, and a helmet, you're surrounded by a rollcage
- + You can take friends for a ride
- + Easy to carry additional fuel and supplies for long excursions
- + Possible to drive your truck to the desert and back
- + Air conditioning and heater
- - Higher cost of maintenance and fuel consumption
- - Initial build cost can be very high
- - Expensive to race
- - Can be difficult to work on
- - Tow cost if you break down
Power to Weight Showdown
After the day concluded we were curious about power-to-weight ratio and if that was the reason the bike kept pulling away from the truck in the flat. The bike did end up with a slight advantage, but not by much.
SuperLite truck weight: 2,550 pounds
SuperLite truck horsepower: 250 hp
JCR/Honda CRF450X bike weight: 279 pounds
JCR/Honda CRF450X bike horsepower: 56 hp
Jeff "Ox" Kargola weight: 200 pounds
Truck power to weight ratio: 0.0909 hp/lb
Bike power to weight ratio: 0.1169 hp/lb
Curious what the bike guys had to say? Head out to your favorite newsstand and pick up the September issue of Dirt Rider. We have a new found respect for our bike friends. We first thought the short-course truck would make short work of the bike on the track. We'll still choose a truck on any given day, but it wouldn't be horrible to have a bike in tow as backup.
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De La Soul:U Can Do (Life)
U Can Do (Life)
Artist: De La Soul
Album: Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump
(ahhhh, ahhhh)
c'mon, c'mon, bounce - bounce
c'mon.. bounce, rock, roll
(ahhhh, ahhhh)
Chorus: {sung}
You can do, whatever you want
Whatever you like
It's your own life
So let me be, to do what I want
To do what I like
Cause this is my life
It's been about ten long years, my skin wreaks
flavors that your incense couldn't match
We burn slow like syphillis in your piss, accomodated
with the penicill-in, you're listenin, to
This "Art Official" will keep your shoes moonwalkin
Soon to talk about, "Pop Music"
You'll buy it cause you choose it
A lot of MC's is really S&M'n
Whips and chains, I maintain like a old jazz singer
Ella Fitz. in any location
Held back in rotation, an apple a day
only makes a nigga fruity
I eat responsibilities to carry out my duty
?? in the MD's, I pull it out just to polish it
Make notes if you earnin or wait your turnbuckle
I stick to gettin mines like stucco (ahhhh, ahhhh)
I'm that full-time rapper, the nickname's Llama
Part-time father if you ask my daughter's mommas
Missin in action cause the action got a fraction
of the world listenin to me
Got me travellin overseas in lands constantly
Got a sea of hands wavin, ain't misbehavin
but a lot of kids cravin for somethin they ain't got
Like the keys to the ride and a pocket with a knot and it's
holdin they ground til they rot in it
Plottin it, lockin it down strong
cause it's nuttin wrong gettin your bubblin on sticker
But too much bubblin can make you fizz quicker
So watch your stack, keep your fam intact
and pay attention to the now, I'm clearin the mess
While they stressin back in the day, I'm at the front of the night
with my crew shinin light on the (ahhhh, ahhhh)
Chorus 2X
Now we on top of this like a typical bed position
Peepin your view, got your whole crew wishin and waitin
Makin dollars out of ten dime pieces
who be sippin out the glass suckin on the lime pieces included
In my pieces I pen the good livin
And even when we're stressin from in the hood livin
at least we're livin and there ain't no hell in that
Give me a yell in that, and go (ahhhh, ahhhh)
I wanna see the world ten times over
Dive off cliffs and land on oppotunities unthinkable
You sinkin straight to the bottom; while I float in parades
that St. Patty couldn't put up
All my niggaz tryin to build, then throw your wood up
Design life like PNB gears so stand clear for the blast off
Last off my chest, peace to Dav West
Live your life to the fullest (ahhhh, ahhhh)
You can do.. what you want.. what you like
Let me be.. what I want.. what I like


text:
A short post courtesy of my inbox: D'Amelio Gallery, which announced its closing earlier this month, will be selling its library tomorrow between noon and 6 pm. Comb through a large selection of artist's books, monographs, catalogues and other gallery library books. All covers cost between 1 – 25 dollars.
D'Amelio Gallery is located at 525 W 22nd St.


text:
Lake Erie Is Second-Most Threatened of Great Lakes
Lake Erie is one of the most threatened of the five Great Lakes as a result of toxic blue-green algae and invasive species of fish, mussels and plants, according to a new report. The Great Lakes Environmental Assessment and Mapping Project concluded that Lake Erie was the second-most threatened of the lakes, behind Lake Ontario.
Researchers with the assessment project spent more than three years collecting data on 34 lake "stressors" — including invasive species, climate change and pollution, The Columbus Dispatch reported on Monday.
Peter McIntyre, a mapping-project researcher with the University of Wisconsin's Center for Limnology, said he hopes the computer-generated "threat map" highlighting the areas with the biggest problems will help officials who award hundreds of millions of dollars in grants each year to help clean up and protect the lakes. Those lakes with the worst status could attract more of that money, which mostly comes from the federal Great Lakes Restoration Initiative.
The new map shows Lake Ontario as the most threatened because of widespread mercury and PCB pollution and problems stemming from invasive sea lampreys and zebra and quagga mussels. But Ohio advocates and experts have argued that Lake Erie is the most-threatened of the Great Lakes.
"It's hard to imagine that any other Great Lake would be in more trouble," said Sandy Bihn, director of the Toledo-based Lake Erie Waterkeeper advocacy group.
Researchers in 2011 tracked a record-size "bloom" of the toxic algae in Lake Erie. Satellite photos that year showed the algae, which produces a nerve toxin that can sicken humans and kill pets and other animals, stretching from Toledo to Cleveland. Rains wash manure, fertilizers and sewage into the lake, contaminating widespread areas with nitrogen and phosphorus that feed the algae.
Lake Erie appears to lead other lakes in sediment problems from erosion and in invasive shoreline reeds called phragmites and the invasive round goby fish, although zebra and quagga mussels are more concentrated in Lake Ontario, according to the map.
Researchers evaluated the cumulative threat to each Great Lake, emphasizing the categories of declining water level, rising water temperature, zebra and quagga mussels, sea lampreys and ballast-water dumping by oceangoing vessels, McIntyre said.
But no matter its ranking, Lake Erie's combined problems present a dire threat to its overall ecology, according to Jeffrey Reutter, director of Ohio State University's Sea Grant program and the Stone Laboratory on Lake Erie.
Lake Erie also apparently has been harmed by climate change, with maps showing a large loss of winter ice cover in Erie and in Lake Superior.
Ice helps to slow warming of the water in the spring and summer, and Lake Erie's ice levels are "dropping significantly over time, year after year," Bihn said.
This article appeared in print on page 4 of edition of Hamodia.
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Darren Criss has only been in television's spotlight for a handful of years, but he has already managed to gather an incredible amount of dedicated fans. On twitter alone, his account has an impressive 1.7 million followers. It doesn't take much to see that Criss is beloved by many.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the 27-year-old actor, we've compiled a list of the top 5 reasons we love Darren Criss. See if you end up falling in love with him after reading them all.
1. He's Harry Potter.
Well… not exactly, but he certainly does a great job of portraying a comedic Harry Potter on stage. In 2009, Darren Criss co-founded a Chicago-based musical theatre company called StarKid Productions. That same year, Criss played Harry Potter in the StarKid production "A Very Potter Musical" and began gathering attention for himself. The hilarious musical was put on YouTube and became a viral video. The musical was so popular that they created two more installments. Even before hitting television screens, Criss already showed us his humor, charm, talent and stage presence.
2. He's Blaine.
Darren Criss is most known for his character Blaine Anderson on the popular Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. Following his success with StarKid Productions, he was casted as the charming gay high school student. The chemistry between Blaine and another character named Kurt Hummel gained a large fan support and their relationship was named, "one of the most beloved TV couples of the millennium" by the New York Post. Additionally, they were named Favorite TV Couple at the 2010 AfterElton.com Visibility Awards, and Entertainment Weekly claims that the boys have been "leading the way" in representing the gay community on television.
3. He's talented.
As you can probably tell from his work, Darren Criss is an awfully talented fellow. He began playing the violin at the age of 5 and was classically trained for 15 years. Of course, he didn't stop there. He also taught himself how to play the guitar, piano, mandolin, harmonica and drums. By the age of ten, he began joining theater groups and theater companies. By 15, Criss began composing songs. He made his television debut in 2009 on Eastwick, his Broadway debut in 2012 in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and his film debut later that year in Girl Most Likely.
4. He's Filipino-American.
And he's extremely proud of his roots. His mother is a native of Cebu, Philippines and went to live in America in hopes of better circumstances for her children. Criss admits that while his childhood was not too immersed in the culture, he has been to the Philippines numerous times and has a "bizarre kinship" with the country. "As soon as I got off the plane, I was like, 'Ah, this is me back in the Philippines." I love this place. Whatever Filipino blood [I have in me] is very happy to be here." he said in an interview.
5. He has a big heart.
Possibly one of the biggest reasons Criss has such a large fanbase is because he seems to be a genuinely good person. Following the massive Typhoon that hit the Philippines, Criss launched a campaign to encourage donations. His statement said, "My mother was born & raised there, and as a result I have always been proud of my Filipino heritage, as well as lucky enough to feel the tremendous support of the Filipino community throughout my life as an artist." Criss is an active supporter of The Trevor Project which focuses on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. His work with this organization gained him Variety's Power of Youth Philanthropy award.
Bonus: He's Hot.


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SEATTLE, Jan. 9, 2003 — In conflict after conflict, whenever one of its most deadly enemies rears its head, the U.S. military employs a potent weapon: a little orange pill. The enemy is fatigue, a foe that claimed more deaths among military pilots in the past two decades than combat duty. The solution is selective use of amphetamines, an effective stimulant that has kept military aviators fierce-eyed and alert from the Battle of Britain to night strikes over Afghanistan. With air wings deploying again to the Persian Gulf, questions are surfacing about the safety of "go pills" in the cockpit.
Fatigue has been inherent to battle since the Spartans fell to Xerxes' Persians at Thermopylae, and while war itself has changed, fatigue remains a constant. The modern cockpit is a case in point: flight crews face a dizzying mix of routine tasks and quick decision-making, all while controlling an intricate machine bristling with lethal weaponry. Add missions stretching thousands of miles, the stress of combat and enemy fire, and fatigue can be deadly.
The Air Force alone has recorded nearly 100 fatal crashes due to pilot fatigue, one reason the surgeons general of the various branches of the armed forces have been open to new ways to keep flight crews well rested and alert.
U.S. military management of fatigue is more nuanced and cautious than ever. Squadron commanders work closely with flight surgeons to make sure pilots are fit to fly. Successive conflicts dominated by air power — the Gulf War in 1990-91, Kosovo in 1999 and last year's Afghan campaign — raised awareness of the physical demands and risks of flying at night and on long missions.
Alert or impaired?
The use of drugs to address the problem — a practice that goes back decades — is now under fire. Earlier this month, two Air National Guard pilots who mistakenly bombed Canadian troops during an F-16 flight over Afghanistan last year, claimed the "go pills" they took before the mission impaired their judgment. Lawyers for the two airmen, Maj. Harry Schmidt and Maj. William Umbach, contend the military pressured their clients to take the go pills — as the prescription amphetamine Dexedrine is called in the military.
Amphetamine use to battle cockpit fatigue has been proven effective. Considered a Schedule II substance by the federal government, its impact on neurotransmitters increases consciousness and can help stabilize sleep patterns. What's less clear is the impact of its side effects: elevated blood pressure and heart rate, nervousness and restlessness.
Moreover, flight surgeons and pilots are faced with the reality that they're using a highly addictive substance — one that reportedly hooked some pilots during the Gulf War with its ability to help them perform and change their sleeping cycles for night missions.
By contrast, civil pilots are expressly banned from using anything stronger than caffeine to stay awake. Federal aviation regulations specify amphetamines as a substance with potential for abuse, and its presence in the blood is checked during both routine pilot drug tests and forensic exams after fatal accidents.
Apples and oranges?
But military doctors argue their pilots confront a host of tricky medical challenges that civilian pilots — even long-haul airline pilots — never face: grueling, tricky missions without backup crews and cramped cockpits that all but immobilize a pilot.
Dr. Russell B. Rayman, executive director of the Aerospace Medical Association and a 25-year veteran pilot and flight surgeon for the Air Force, says you simply can't compare the experience of long-haul civilian passenger jet pilots with those flying high-performance warplanes over hostile territory.
"When you're strapped in an A-10 and flying hour after hour," he says, "it's very different."
Even the military has had cause for concern about go pills and counteracting "no-go pills" — prescription sedatives used to help pilots sleep after an extended mission and go-pill use.
Though Air Force officials insist there is "no documentation of any pilot in the Gulf War being adversely affected" by amphetamine use, flight surgeons found some pilots were exceeding their generally small dosage of the pills during the 1991 battle with Iraq and regularly using the pills as part of their flight regimen.
Military officials suspended the go-pill program in 1992 after the war was over, though the Air Force insists the reasoning was that combat had ended and pilots' missions returned to a more normal bent. The Air Force's use of pills was reinstated in 1996, with strict protocols, as U.S. pilots began regular bombing runs over the Balkans. Those missions, usually at night, required crews to travel hundreds or thousands of miles to reach their targets.
"What happened was, almost immediately, crews started complaining as sorties started growing in duration," says Col. Peter Demitry, a fighter pilot and assistant deputy surgeon general for the Air Force who helped craft its current policy. "With the long, almost draconian bomber mission durations, we were forced to go back and review medical science."
Pill counts
The current program is strictly regulated — and wholly voluntary for pilots who opt in. They're first tested on the ground for any adverse effects and must sign a consent form that emphasizes use is a voluntary decision and requires them to acknowledge that "the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved the use of Dexedrine to manage fatigue."
Pills are handed out by flight surgeons just before and remainders collected after a flight, with each one meticulously recorded on a sheet — although some officers insist pilots need the flexibility to manage their own sleep schedules and routine and have resisted a standard regimen for pill usage. Critics see it as the military forking over pills to pilots; military doctors insist it's a crucial tool to battle what could otherwise be a deadly factor during a 30-hour mission.
"The pilot and the pilot alone in the privacy of his cockpit, in a life-and-death situation, decides whether he should swallow this insurance policy," says Demitry. "I have not had the personal need to use them, but I was glad they were available."
The pills' current use has largely been prompted by commanding officers looking to improve their squadrons' abilities and keep their crews safe. Requests must go through a flight surgeon, who reviews the specific goals of a mission and sets out a plan for usage.
Subtle pressures?
But some commanders have insisted all their pilots have the pills on hand as a precaution; it may not be a mandate to use them, but some critics — such as the lawyers for the two F-16 pilots in the Afghan friendly fire incident — suggest it amounts to significant pressure from a superior officer.
Standard dosage is 5 to 10 mg, similar to what might be used to help treat a child's hyperactive disorder and less than prescribed for most adult sleep disorders. Doctors suggest pilots take no more than one every four hours, and even with side effects the military dosage is negligible, according to several doctors and pharmacologists.
Still, studies of Japanese pilots during World War II — who also used amphetamines — showed high potential for abuse, especially because of the dependent use of the drug to accomplish a professional task.
"It's not that any pilot that takes amphetamines is going to get addicted," says University of Michigan pharmacology professor Margaret Gnegy. "It's what's in their minds when they take the drugs. People can become addicted after very small doses."
Go, no-go
As if the body chemistry weren't already complex enough, for pilots who can't sleep after finishing a mission, officials have added a second component to the program: the "no-go pill," prescription sedatives such as Ambien or Restoril used to let pilots rest after mission use of the go pill. Again, officials insist the no-go pills are essential in maintaining normal sleep patterns for crews who often are working under conditions that defy the body's desire for rest and normal circadian rhythms — whether it applies to military or civilian pilots.
"The ones that are having their brains on an old time zone going into a new time zone, they're going to be impaired. During biological night, they're going to be sleepy and impaired," says Dr. Virgil Wooten, medical director of TriHealth Sleep and Alertness Centers and an FAA medical examiner and sleep consultant. "If I were in the back of a plane going across to Asia, I would feel better knowing they were up there with access to Dexedrine."
Still, extended flight missions have been routine for decades in the armed forces — usually without the benefit of the pills. Navy aviators, for example, only began using Dexedrine in November of last year, well into the Afghan campaign. (Navy doctors approved a go-pill program in 2000.)
"Our standard mission was 10-12 hours and there was never any suggestion that we take anything," says retired Navy Capt. Charles "Chuck" Sipe, who flew Cold War patrol missions in a P-3 Orion and now teaches at the Naval War College. "If you're too tired to fly, you don't take a pill to boost your endurance. It's a bad idea."
But on the whole, most commanders and their pilots laugh off the concerns as rather trivial given the life-and-death realities of combat. Though current go-pill guidelines are firmly regimented, officers are reluctant to set strict mandates on pilots whose role is largely to make subjective decisions so they can accomplish concrete goals. As one Gulf War commander suggested in describing his endorsement of go pills, "If you can't trust them with the medication, then you can't trust them with a $50 million airplane to try and go kill someone."
© 2013 msnbc.com Reprints


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I have a sofabed whose back is fixed to the bed by bolt and nut. When I try to loosen the nut by wrench, the bolt and nut move together. There are no rust. How shall I loosen the nut?
Update: the head of bolt has a shallow hex hole. I have got help from another who used hex wrench to stick into the hole of the bolt head and fix/rotate the bolt, together with a regular wrench to rotate the nut.